Watershed Critical to Health of Meramec River Protected

Nature Conservancy and Missouri Department of Conservation Team Up to Protect Land in Jefferson County

ST. LOUIS —December 15, 2005—The Nature Conservancy recently reached an agreement with the Missouri Department of Conservation to protect more than 500 acres along LaBarque Creek in northwest Jefferson County. This creek is a high-quality stream within a rugged sandstone terrain that supports more than 36 fish species, an exceptional number, and contains deep canyons that provide cool habitat for unique plant species left behind when glaciers retreated northward.

“This is a prized watershed, critical to the health of the Meramec River,” said Susan Harris, Missouri state director for the Conservancy. “Protecting it now – before the region develops further– helps ensure the health of freshwater habitats downstream. The Missouri Department of Conservation’s efforts have been vital to this protection effort.”

The more than 500 acres protected today includes 334 acres of lands owned by the Conservancy since 1986, along with 171 acres of recently-purchased land. MDC has assumed ownership of these two tracts, taking responsibility for management. The properties, located side by side, are several miles from Pacific, Mo., located about 22 miles from St. Louis.

“The Missouri Department of Conservation was interested in conserving LaBarque Creek because it is the last remaining high-quality intact watershed in the St. Louis region. The Conservancy was ahead of the curve and we were able to build off of the land that the Conservancy already protected,” said Mike Arduser, natural history regional biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “In addition, the protection of this watershed has been successful because of the cooperation between interested landowners and a variety of community groups that had the vision to see what we see in this area.”

Water from the LaBarque Creek watershed flows into the Meramec River, identified by the Conservancy as a global priority because of the diversity of species it supports. Protecting this watershed is critical to ensuring the river’s long-term health.

The 218-mile-long Meramec River runs through the Ozark highlands, emptying into the Mississippi below St. Louis. The river system, which drains a 2,149 square mile area, begins as a spring-fed gravel bottom stream then grows as other waters — including the Bourbeuse and Big River — enter it.

The impressive number of more than 20 native species of mussel living in the river is an indicator of the high quality of water found here. A detailed report of the Meramec River watershed, prepared by Missouri Department of Conservation, is available online.

Increasingly, Jefferson County, where the watershed is located, faces pressures from development. Because soil here is thin, freshwater habitats are vulnerable to inappropriate development, which can damage soil and creek banks. The Conservancy is committed to protecting the especially fragile lands within this region.

Transferring these lands to the state helps ensure their long-term protection. The Missouri Department of Conservation is committed to building a conservation initiative in the LaBarque Hills area. There also is strong community support for such a plan. The Conservancy is working in close concert with multiple partners, community members and private landowners to develop a watershed conservation plan for the community. It will be the community’s first.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 14 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.

Together with our members and conservation partners, The Nature Conservancy in Missouri has protected more than 138,000 acres of critical natural lands since 1956. Visit us on the Web at nature.org/missouri.